He takes pity on me and my non-answer, holding out his hand. I grab it, and he spins me in a slow twirl under his arm.
“What was that for?” I ask when I’m facing him again.
“Yep. Just checking. I can confirm it’s not only your face and your arms. You look good all around.” He leans in, his gaze coming to rest on my lips, and my stomach bottoms out. “Don’t even get me started on that smart mouth of yours.”
I involuntarily lick my lips, and Anton’s tie-dye eyes swirl deeper and darker. I gulp. “Okay, charmer,” I whisper.
The deejay transitions to an upbeat song, and the whole room screams, snapping the tension that had pulled taut between us. I recognize the song as one that’s popular on social media right now. There’s a whole dance that goes with it.
Three kids come over and tug on Anton’s arm. “Come on, Mr. Bates. You promised you’d let us teach you this one.”
“Oh, I would pay money to see this.” I smirk at him.
Anton puts up some fake resistance but doesn’t stop the students from pulling him out on the dance floor.
He walks backward, looking smoother than silk. “You joining us?”
“Don’t want to show you up, Bates.” I shake my head and then shrug. “Besides, I can watch you better from here.”
“I see how it is.” He holds his arms out wide. “You like this view?”
More than I should.
I hold up my hands as if undecided. “That depends on your moves.”
He’s a good sport about it and gamely makes an effort to learn the dance, even as all the kids crack up at his lack of coordination. I’m woman enough to admit I’m enamored.
When the song ends, “I’ll Be” by Edwin McCain comes on, and couples pair off. The crowd parts almost like this is a movie, and Anton is standing there, holding out his hand to me.
I walk forward. I feel the eyes of a bunch of teenagers on me, but I don’t even care. Anton is smiling his perfect smile, and all I want is to feel his arms holding me. He sweeps me up into an impeccable waltz.
I’m so shocked that I stumble over my feet. “You said you couldn’t dance!”
He chuckles, his grip tightening on my waist. “I may not be able to dance in bars or do weird social media dance moves, but mymother made sure I could dance at balls. This sort of footwork actually helps with football, so yeah, this I can do.”
“I’m impressed.”
“What? No one waltzed with you at your last prom?” He arches a brow. “You never finished telling me about that earlier, by the way.”
“I thought you’d forget you’d asked,” I murmur.
He doesn’t respond, and when I glance up, he’s staring intently down at me.
“I don’t plan to forget much when it comes to you.” He says it like a promise.
How does he do that? With one simple declaration, he has me feeling like I can fly and like I’m melting into a puddle.
“Not much to tell.” I shake my head, trying to keep my growing feelings for Anton from overtaking my common sense. “I went to prom with a friend who was actually into a different friend, but she already had another date. He ended up ditching me for her mid-way through the dance anyway.”
“Where is he now? I’ll go talk to him.”
I laugh lightly. “Not necessary. I didn’t want to date him, so more power to him, I guess. But the whole night was sort of…not great. I was wearing a hand-me-down dress from my older sister, Poppy. Our grandma had passed away not long after my mom had died and my dad left us, so it was sort of a weird night.”
“I’m sorry.” Anton’s voice is gravelly and earnest.
A weird tickle of emotion surges up and presses painfully against the back of my throat.
He squeezes my hand where he holds it out in a perfect frame. I squeeze back, letting him know I’m okay. I don’t talk about my family a lot, but with Anton, I want to. I tell myself it’s to build trust and be able to do my job well, but it’s more than that. It’s about how safe he makes me feel.
